Beach Hole Collapses, Man Dies In California

A beach hole collapsed on Monday, causing the young man who dug it to lose his life after he was trapped above his head in the sand for five minutes. The young man was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner's office as Adam Pye, 26, of San Lorenzo.

Pye dug a 10-foot-deep hole at Francis State Beach, which is about 30 miles southwest of downtown San Francisco. As he was standing inside of it, the beach hole began to collapse.

Captain Jonathan Cox of The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that about 30 people, including Adam's friends and numerous bystanders, began frantically trying to dig him out with their bare hands and whatever tools they could find. They used buckets and other improvised tools to try to save Adam's life, but to no avail. The beach hole collapse had swallowed his entire body.

The bystanders were able to free his head from the beach hole collapse in about five minutes. Emergency personnel arrived just when his head was freed, but it was already too late.

"When they got there, they discovered he was unconscious," Cox said.

He said that paramedics did manage to get his airways open while 30 firefighters, with help from some of the bystanders, used shovels and other equipment to free his body from the beach hole collapse. They succeeded, but it took about 35 minutes. When they attempted to revive him, Adam died at the scene.

Such a sad and fairly common story that happens more than you would think. Please use this as yet another cautionary tale about digging deep holes, especially in something as unstable as sand.

Be careful of beach hole collapses as you enjoy the remaining days of summer.

Lacy Langley
Lacy is a writer from Texas. She likes spending time in the home office, homeschooling her kids, playing the didgeridoo, caring for her chickens (Thelma and Louise), Rolos, Christmas, and Labyrinth.Google+